Smitten Kitchen's Roasted Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola Pizza

An oldie but goodie! We've made this quite a few times, and met with success each time. Now, of course you can use a Boboli ready made crust if you want, but I highly recommend making your own dough! It's actually pretty easy and you can't beat the taste or the smell while it's cooking. (See below for a recipe.) One other point of personalization: if you aren't a fan of gorgonzola, feel free to leave it out. The smell doesn't usually do it for me, so sometimes I leave it out and sometimes I substitute goat cheese.

Roasted Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola Pizza
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis by Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen

Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main dish.

1 (1- pound) acorn squash
2 tablespoons maple syrup (I like to get Grade B if I can, as it has a deeper flavor and is less watery.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (Deb says 1 tsp in her recipe, but also says 1/2 was fine. It worked for us.)
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 pound pizza dough
1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 cup arugula
Squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice squash in half and scoop the seeds out of the middle. Next, (carefully- you could loose a finger!) slice into 1/2 inch half moons and place in a mixing bowl. Add maple syrup, olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until each piece is evenly coated in the mixture. Place the squash on a baking sheet.and bake until tender (insert a fork and check) and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. When you take out the squash, don't turn off the oven as you can use it for your dough.

If you're using a pre-made pizza crust, skip to the next paragraph. Dust a pizza stone or cutting board with flour and roll out your dough into a nice foot wide circle. Add a little olive oil to a baking sheet, and place your crust in the center.

Add the mozzarella and the gorgonzola cheese to your pizza dough. Bake in the oven until cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes if using your own dough, or follow the directions on your pre-prepared crust package.

When your pizza is cooked, take out and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, top with the acorn squash half moons. In a separate bowl, toss arugula with lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Top the pizza and acorn squash with the arugala. Slice and serve.

Cheri's Favorite Pizza Dough
Recipe by Cheri Sicard

1 1/2 cups very warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
16 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) bread flour
3 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
About a tablespoon of olive oil

For recipe CLICK HERE